Time Warner firmware "upgrade"

jlb1705 · #1 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 01:50 AM

I have digital cable & DVR (not HD) thru Time Warner, and a couple nights ago my box went thru a forced reboot and my firmware was "upgraded". That's TW's word, not mine. I certainly wouldn't use the word "upgrade" to describe something that runs slower than the old version and subtracts important and useful features. It screwed up everything I already had on set up on there, and I've already had to reboot once after my box froze up.

Apparently they've been rolling out these upgrades on a regional basis for several months now, and just did the Cincinnati area (including my box) a couple nights ago.

Has anybody else gone through this? I wish I could roll back to what I had a week ago. This seems like the Windows Vista of DVR firmware. I also wish I didn't live in an apartment and had the ability to switch to satellite. That would be a REAL upgrade.

BuckNutty · #2 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 07:16 AM

I have similar complaints but I must admit the HD/DVR box in the living room has accepted the "upgrade" better than the digital box in my bedroom.

On Demand consistently doesn't work in my bedroom. I hit the guide button and there is a 2 second delay before anything shows up on the guide and the descriptions now for movies is awful.

Time Warner has until the middle of August to get the BTN or I'm making the complete switch to DirecTV.

chance · #3 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 09:58 AM

Ours had updated about three weeks ago and had the same problems with our box. I just took it back in and got a fresh one (still in the box). I just plugged it in and let it download the firmware and it worked like a champ. So it doesn't seem like it will correct itself.

The new firmware is way faster than the original but on our old box it was absolutely horrid. As mentioned before our On demand rarely brought the movie up and then it would cut out and then we couldn't start the movie up. Also our guide would come up blank half the time and never show the details no matter how long you sat there.

Medieval · #4 (**permalink**) 06-25-2008, 03:19 PM

We have been very disappointed with Time Warner's "upgrade". The "feature" (TWC customer service's word) that allowed you to program the cable box to tune to a specific channel at a specific time and record a program on your VCR is gone. This is a massive reduction in service capability.

TWC customer service at first denied that the service was gone but after two failed phone conferences and an escalated personal service visit, they admitted the new software didn't have the same capacities as the old. Just like the TV commercials they actually said to me "No one misses these fancy things, most people don't even know its there."

I was told by TWC that they didn't want to rent their old third party software anymore and decided that they would write their own software.

The non-programming with a VCR is the worst lost feature, but the overall usability of the user interface is a complete disaster. "Find similar shows" - gone. "Search or find actors" - gone. "See all listing of one show on one screen" - gone. The show information is sparse or missing, the majority doesn't even tell the stars or date. The procedure to locate a show is a ridiculous faux-keyboard implementation. For example, it is absolutely routine to spend 3+ minutes just trying to find when Tennis is on over the next 3 days. Don't dare hit wrong button or you start over.

The system simply "forgets" everything and must be rebooted a few times every week which takes upwards of 8-10 minutes!!! Every process involving this software is inferior to the old.

Of course, the old is no longer available.

I asked for a reduction in our service fee and was told that the service was only serving the channels. The software was a "feature" and they could remove any feature they wanted.

If you are looking for a home cable system. I strongly suggest not approaching TWC. Their business model is simply no longer viable. I suspect this is why TW wishes to sell their cable business.

Oh8ch · #5 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 04:43 PM

Quote:

On Demand consistently doesn't work in my bedroom.

I can not believe that everyone just let this slide.

BuckNutty · #6 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

I can not believe that everyone just let this slide.

All you can do is put it on the tee I guess.

AKAKBUCK · #7 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

I can not believe that everyone just let this slide.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckNutty

On Demand consistently doesn't work in my bedroom.

Seems like calling it "firmware" is a little over-optimistic, I guess.